Doom

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread desktop processor from Intel’s Coffee Lake Refresh generation, built on a 14 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts up to 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In Doom, this CPU lands at the 47th percentile among all tested processors, meaning it outperforms roughly half of the database’s CPU pool. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it in close company with rivals: the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% faster), while the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% slower) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% slower). These deltas are minuscule, so the i5-9400 sits in a tight performance cluster where no single chip holds a meaningful advantage in synthetic tests.

For Doom, the CPU’s six physical cores are sufficient for the game’s engine, which is known for scaling well with modern hardware but not demanding extreme core counts. The 4.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain responsiveness in scenes with many enemies or physics interactions. The absence of hyper-threading means six threads total, but Doom rarely needs more than that at the tested settings. The data shows the combo ranking 2332 out of 2930 tested combinations, which places it in the lower-mid tier of the database. That rank reflects the entire system—CPU plus GPU—not just the processor. The i5-9400’s 47th percentile CPU score suggests it is not the primary bottleneck at most resolutions; instead, the GPU likely governs frame rates, especially at higher settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six cores and six threads, a configuration that aligns well with Doom’s id Tech engine. This engine was released in 2016 and is optimized for multi-threaded workloads, but it does not require excessive core counts. The 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock deliver adequate single-thread performance, which matters for the game’s main rendering thread. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. Geekbench results show 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These numbers indicate a balanced processor that can handle both light and heavy threads without severe imbalances.

The CPU’s 9 MB of shared L3 cache is modest by modern standards but sufficient for Doom’s working set. The dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth provides ample data throughput for game assets, especially at 1080p where CPU-to-memory traffic is higher relative to GPU load. The 6th percentile of CPU performance (47th) means the i5-9400 is not a high-end part, yet in Doom, the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 164 average, which is far above playable thresholds. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU without stalling even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is more visible.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, -0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, -0.4% delta). The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is essentially tied (2246, +0.4% delta). These differences are within noise, so the i5-9400 delivers comparable CPU-bound performance to those chips in Doom. However, the combo rank of 2332 out of 2930 indicates that many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates, driven largely by more powerful GPUs rather than superior CPUs.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2332 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the 21st percentile from the top, meaning about 79% of tested systems deliver better performance. The rank is influenced by both components, but the GPU’s role is more significant. The Arc B570 has a 65th percentile rank among all GPUs, which is above average, yet the combo still lands low because many tested pairs use higher-end graphics cards. For context, the Arc B570’s nearest GPU rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534 avg score, 0.1% faster), the Intel Arc A750 (20582 avg score, -0.1% slower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662 avg score, -0.5% slower). These rivals have similar GPU compute scores, so the combo’s low rank is not due to an unusually weak GPU.

Instead, the rank reflects the CPU’s mid-tier position. The i5-9400’s 47th percentile CPU score means it is slower than many CPUs paired with comparable GPUs in the database. For example, a combo with a higher-end CPU like a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 would likely rank higher even with the same GPU, because Doom can benefit from better single-thread performance in certain scenes. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 164 FPS, which is high, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 35 FPS, showing that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The combo rank of 2332 is therefore a blend of adequate CPU performance and mid-range GPU performance, resulting in a system that is competent but not competitive with top-tier builds.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 164 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, it drops to 106 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 57 FPS, another 46% drop from 1440p. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, as evidenced by the 164 FPS average, which is well beyond what most displays can show. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is significant, and the gap to 4K is even larger, consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

For High settings, the pattern is similar: 1080p High delivers 121 FPS, 1440p High drops to 78 FPS (36% lower), and 4K High falls to 42 FPS (46% lower from 1440p). This consistent scaling across settings suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The Arc B570 has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K, the game requires more texture data and pixel processing, which strains the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 2304 shading units. The CPU’s 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is not a constraint at any resolution, as the game’s data fits within the L3 cache and system memory.

The data also shows that lowering settings from Ultra to Low at each resolution provides substantial FPS gains. At 4K, Ultra averages 35 FPS, Medium 50 FPS, and Low 57 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, as reducing graphical load directly improves frame rates. The CPU’s role is secondary, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low, the combo does not exceed 164 FPS, which is likely a CPU ceiling for this particular pairing. However, that ceiling is high enough for smooth gameplay, so the CPU is not a serious limitation in Doom.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average frame rates: Low settings yield 164 FPS, Medium 143 FPS, High 121 FPS, and Ultra 99 FPS. The Medium preset also records a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. These numbers indicate that the system is well-suited for 1080p gaming, with even Ultra settings providing near-100 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 22 FPS (from 121 to 99), which is a 18% reduction, while the step from Low to Medium costs 21 FPS (from 164 to 143), a 13% reduction. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce more demanding effects like higher-quality shadows and textures, but the GPU still handles them adequately.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 106 FPS, Medium 92 FPS, High 78 FPS, and Ultra 64 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, indicating some variance but no major stutters. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: Low falls by 58 FPS (35%), Medium by 51 FPS (36%), High by 43 FPS (36%), and Ultra by 35 FPS (35%). This uniform scaling confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the relative performance hit is the same regardless of settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 57 FPS, Medium 50 FPS, High 42 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS. The Medium preset records a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS. This resolution pushes the Arc B570 to its limits, with Ultra dipping below 40 FPS, which is not ideal for fast-paced FPS gameplay. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 22 FPS (from 57 to 35), a 39% reduction, which is larger than the 1080p gap of 40% (from 164 to 99). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are strained more severely by Ultra settings. Overall, the data shows that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with 1440p being playable at Medium or High, and 4K requiring Low to Medium for acceptable frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B570 is a mid-range GPU from the Battlemage generation, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture and built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU runs at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock, with memory at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 18 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s compute performance is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS for FP32, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. Its 65th percentile rank among all GPUs indicates it sits above the median, and its average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.1% faster) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, 0.1% slower).

In Doom, the Arc B570’s performance is heavily influenced by its memory bandwidth and ROP count. At 1080p, the GPU has enough bandwidth to sustain high frame rates, as shown by the 164 FPS at Low settings. The 10 GB VRAM is ample for Doom’s textures, even at 4K Ultra, so memory capacity is not a bottleneck. Instead, the 160-bit bus limits memory bandwidth, which becomes evident at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 35, suggesting that the GPU cannot feed its shading units fast enough. The 80 ROPs are responsible for pixel output, and at 4K, the fill rate requirement is four times higher than at 1080p, causing the sharp decline.

The GPU’s fixed 2500 MHz clock is relatively high, but it does not boost further, so performance scales linearly with load. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is a mid-range figure, and in Doom, it proves sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but insufficient for 4K Ultra. The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS is adequate for the game’s rendering, but the pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are the deciding factors at high resolutions. The data shows that the Arc B570 behaves as expected: strong at 1080p, competent at 1440p, and struggling at 4K with heavy settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired smoothness. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Low averaging 164 FPS, Medium 143 FPS, High 121 FPS, and Ultra 99 FPS. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, Low or Medium would be ideal, as they exceed 140 FPS. However, for visual fidelity, High offers a balance with 121 FPS, which is still smooth. Ultra at 99 FPS is also acceptable, but the visual gains over High are marginal in Doom, so High is recommended for the best balance of quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the choice narrows. Low averages 106 FPS, Medium 92 FPS, High 78 FPS, and Ultra 64 FPS. For a 60 Hz display, Ultra is viable at 64 FPS, but for 144 Hz, Low or Medium are required. Medium at 92 FPS is a good compromise, providing high frame rates with improved visuals over Low. High at 78 FPS is also playable but may dip below 60 in intense scenes. The data shows that Medium is the sweet spot at 1440p, as it delivers nearly double the FPS of Ultra while looking significantly better than Low.

At 3840x2160, only Low (57 FPS) and Medium (50 FPS) are viable for smooth gameplay. High at 42 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less desirable for a fast-paced FPS like Doom. Low provides the highest frame rate, but Medium offers better visuals with a modest 7 FPS penalty. Given that Doom’s Medium preset includes improved textures and effects, Medium at 4K is recommended for a balance of quality and playability. For those prioritizing frame rate, Low is acceptable, but the 57 FPS average is close to the edge. Overall, the best experience across all resolutions is at 1080p High, which delivers 121 FPS with high-quality visuals, or 1440p Medium at 92 FPS for higher resolution.